Bethlehem Police To Hoof It Again

March 05, 1988|by PAUL WIRTH, The Morning Call

The beat patrolman will return to Bethlehem on a trial basis beginning April 1.

One foot patrolman will be assigned to the North Side business district and one will walk the beat on the South Side, generally between noon and 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, Bethlehem Mayor Ken Smith announced yesterday.

Police officers will be pulled from car duty to staff the foot patrol areas, Smith said. "We'll be sacrificing some mobility," he said. "That's the reason it's a pilot program."

Foot patrols were discontinued about 12 years ago, Smith said. The idea to reinstate them has surfaced from time to time, he said, but manpower shortages prevented the move.

Beat patrolmen will increase the department's visibility in the downtown areas, said Smith. The program will help control the loitering problem on the Bethlehem Plaza Mall and deter criminal activity, the mayor said.

Police Commissioner Thomas P. Murphy said there are mixed feelings among policemen about the beat assignment, but he expects that some will volunteer. He said many of the department's senior officers have walked beats, while the younger police officers have never done so.

Murphy remembers his own beat assignment as a young officer, walking from Broad and New to the area of Liberty High School and back. In those days, police had to check in by telephone, Murphy said. Today each officer has a two-way radio.

Murphy said overtime will be used when necessary to staff the beats and maintain adequate patrols in cars. He said the cost of the program and its effectiveness will be evaluated after three months.

The North Side beat area will cover Main Street from Church to Broad streets and Broad Street from Main to Center. The South Side patrol zone includes 4th Street from Broadway to Adams, Adams Street between 3rd and 4th, 3rd Street from Brodhead to Adams, Brodhead from 3rd to Broadway, and Broadway from Brodhead to 4th Street.

Hours of the patrols are noon to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; noon to 9 p.m. Thursday and noon to 11 p.m. Saturday. Murphy said the hours may be adjusted to provide the best coverage.

"This is an important addition to our ability to control crime and provide a police presence in a psychologically important way," said Smith, noting that some downtown merchants have requested the patrol. "It's a tremendous asset to the city's approach to crime prevention."